Peru’s largest bank, Banco de Crédito del Perú (BCP), has executed the country’s first crypto-based payment within the formal banking sector. The controlled pilot marks a milestone in the gradual integration of blockchain and digital assets into traditional financial services.
A Coffee Purchase with Big Implications
The historic transaction was carried out by a BCP employee, who used a bank-issued digital token to purchase a coffee. The payment was facilitated through a QR code and supported by Fireblocks, a digital asset management platform providing infrastructure for token issuance, custody and secure transfers.
Lenin Tarrillo, Head of Blockchain and Cryptoassets at BCP
“What we did on Friday is probably the first crypto payment in the history of a bank in Peru,” said Lenin Tarrillo, Head of Blockchain and Cryptoassets at BCP. “It marks a path to begin challenging our own service models.”
While the transaction itself was small in value, the symbolic step demonstrates how blockchain technology could gradually embed itself into mainstream banking operations.
The Blockchain Gifts Pilot
The initiative is part of BCP’s in-house innovation lab and has been branded as the Blockchain Gifts project. It operates on the public Polygon blockchain but with strict parameters enforced by smart contracts.
The tokens used in the pilot, named GIFT, are non-tradable, non-transferable and strictly limited to internal use. Only selected BCP employees received them and the tokens could only be spent within the bank’s own cafeterias.
Each GIFT token comes with an expiration period, after which it is automatically “burned” to ensure control and prevent misuse. By restricting usage, BCP ensured that employees could test the technology without exposure to speculative risks.
Focusing on User Experience, Not Market Speculation
BCP designed the pilot to prioritise employee experience and usability. According to Tarrillo, the aim was to measure how easily individuals with no prior knowledge of crypto could interact with a digital wallet, receive tokens and use them for payment.
“We wanted to understand how much difficulty a person who knows nothing about cryptocurrencies, but is familiar with digital wallets, might encounter when downloading a wallet, adding a token and using it. Everything was provided by the bank, with no financial risk to the user,” he explained.
This approach reflects a deliberate effort to experiment with blockchain in a low-stakes environment, focusing on practical application rather than financial speculation.
Regulatory Readiness and Future Outlook
Peru currently lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies. Nonetheless, BCP is positioning itself ahead of future developments by building internal expertise and infrastructure.
Beyond Blockchain Gifts, the bank is also taking part in CriptoCocos, another crypto-related project under Peru’s regulatory sandbox, though details remain under wraps.
With over 1.5 million crypto users in Peru, BCP’s exploration of blockchain payments could eventually extend beyond cafeteria tokens into real-world applications such as cross-border remittances, payroll systems and everyday retail transactions.
By testing how crypto integrates with user-friendly banking systems, BCP is laying the groundwork for wider adoption once regulations provide clarity.
A Step Towards the Future of Finance
The pilot may have been limited in scope, but it symbolises a forward-looking shift in how Peru’s largest bank envisions its future. If scaled successfully, blockchain-based payments could enhance efficiency, security and accessibility in financial services.
For now, BCP’s Blockchain Gifts remains a controlled experiment. But the lessons learned could help the bank and Peru’s wider financial system prepare for a future where crypto and blockchain become integral to daily banking operations.
